Apparatus for centering and aligning vessels

ABSTRACT

A device for centering and aligning vessels, such as bottles in a bottle treating machine handles bottles that have bottom and/or sidewall recesses for being engaged by detents or alignment elements in response to swiveling of the bottle where a centering ring of a bottle support is connected through its housing to an auxiliary control arrangement in the bottle transport table while the bottle support plate which is arranged in the housing is supported so as to be freely rotatable and possesses a cylindrical friction rim against which a friction element such as a closed loop belt interfaces for driving the rim rotationally, the friction element extending through the housing of the bottle supporting assembly features a lateral access opening which allows the rim to be engaged during the time that the particular model is in the alignment zone.

This is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 07/658,342,filed on Feb. 20, 1991, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention discloses an apparatus for centering and aligning vesselsin preparation for performing an operation on the vessels such asapplying a label to them. One method of centering bottles in preparationfor labeling, for example, requires using a bottle that has a recess inits bottom. When the bottle is supported on a plate carried by a rotarybottle transport table, the bottle is rotated until a detent registerswith the recess in the bottle to assure that the bottle is centered andaligned in the proper orientation.

German Patent DE-PS 33 08 489 discloses a device that performs thisfunction. In the patented device, the vessel is rotated on a supportplate until a spring loaded engagement detent aligns with the recess atthe bottom of the bottle under the influence of a rotatably supportedcentering ring which is caused to rotate by means of a friction drive,while the plate that supports the bottom of the bottle is prevented fromrotating. The inherent disadvantage is that the bottle rotating forcethat must be transferred from the centering ring to the outer edge ofthe bottle bottom must be transferred by a relatively small funnelshaped centering surface, opposing the significant frictional forcebetween the bottom of the bottle and the plate on which it is supported.Sometimes the centering surface of the centering ring will slipundesirably past the bottle contour or there can be undesirable slippagebetween the friction surface and the support ring that bears thecentering ring, so that the alignment detent does not always reliablyengage in the recess at the bottom of the bottle. A further disadvantageof the patented device is that it is not suitable for aligning vesselswhich have a recess or recesses in the sidewalls of the bottles as wellas in the bottom.

German Patent DE-PS 24 19 133 also discloses a device for aligningcylindrical bottles, wherein the bottles are elevated by a centeringcone with a control device as the bottles pass through an alignment zoneand are rotated until an alignment cam or detent engages the recess inthe bottle. This is done either by using a large area friction deviceacting directly on the bottles or by using a friction wheel connected tothe centering cone. In the embodiment first mentioned, problems ariseduring operation as a result of the presently poor dimensionaltolerances of the bottles and their frequently wet surfaces which resultin slippage so that alignment is not always accurate. Anotherdisadvantage is that the area on the bottle which is subject tofrictional engagement differs with the shape of the bottles so that thefriction device must be changed when a bottle style is changed. Use ofthe device is limited to bottles which have a conical bottom and nocentering can take place from the outer contour of the bottom of thebottle. The most disadvantageous feature of the device, however, is itssize and the space which it occupies resulting from the necessity forvertical control of the centering cone. The size is so great that thedevice barely fits into the space allowed on the rotating bottletransport table of a modern high capacity labeling machine. This isespecially true in designs where the centering cone is rotated using anadditional friction wheel.

Another alignment and centering device is described in U.S. Pat. No.4,280,612, particularly FIG. 11, in which rotation required foralignment of the bottle is also accomplished with a friction wheel driveunit. This device also cannot be used for labeling or other bottlehandling operations using a conventional rotating bottle transporttable, but instead requires a bottle table with considerably moreelaborate control and gearing mechanisms.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new conceptually similar bottle centering and alignment devicesdisclosed herein are distinguished by their simple construction andcapability for providing precise centering through the outer contour ofa bottle and by reliably aligning bottles that have alignment recesseson the bottom or the sidewall of bottles.

According to the invention, the centering and aligning assembly isconnected to its associated control mechanism in the bottle conveyorwhich is preferably a bottle transport table in a manner that allowslateral access of a friction drive element so it is possible toundertake the required alignment rotation of the bottle on the tabledespite the use of the common roller lever-curved cam type control instandard labeling machines by use of a bottle supporting plate that isfreely rotatable within the centering and aligning assembly withouthaving to have a complicated and space consuming gear mechanism in therotary table. Instead, rotational movement of the bottle supportingplate is carried out by the friction element, which is verticallyarranged in association with the bottle supporting plate in an activealignment zone parallel to the path of the rotary bottle table. Thefriction element extends through the lateral access opening of thecentering and aligning assembly and rests against a frictionallydrivable member on which the bottle supporting plate is mounted. Thelateral access opening is faced toward the friction drive element and isheld in a position that is fixed relative to the rotary table duringpassage through the alignment and centering zone by means of the controlarrangement.

In an application of the device in a machine wherein the bottles aretransported in a circular path, the bottle support plates of thecentering and alignment assemblies are arranged on a rotating tablewhereby it is particularly beneficial that the friction drive element isarranged on the radial outward side of the orbital path of the bottlesupporting plates. It is particularly desirable to implement thefriction drive element with a flexible friction belt. A flexible beltcan be comprised of a closed loop running on guide rollers. It isthereby possible to drive the friction belt engaging member, which isintegrated with the bottle supporting plate, in the direction in whichthe centering and aligning assembly is orbiting or, if desired, in theopposite direction. The latter possibility is particularly beneficial,since, in this way the maximum possible number of rotations of thebottle supporting plate for purposes of alignment can be increasedduring passage through the active alignment zone where it becomesreadily possible to completely rotate the vessel a number of timeswithin the alignment distance so that, for example, if there is noengagement of the alignment element or detent during the first rotationof the bottle, the alignment can still be achieved during a second orthird rotation. Permitting multiple rotations makes it substantiallycertain that the bottle will be engaged by way of its recesses toproperly center and align it.

According to the invention, the design of the bottle supporting plateand the friction surface on it, which is engageable by the frictiondrive element, is a function of whether a bottle must be aligned byengaging a recess in its bottom or in its sidewall, that is, whether analignment element such as a cam or detent will be used that acts at thebottle bottom or its sidewall. According to the invention, the alignmentelement is connected to a bottle centering ring which can rapidlydetached from the housing of the centering and aligning assembly. Thisfeature permits, depending on the type of bottle which is to be centeredand aligned, the use of either a centering ring with an alignmentelement or detent on its upper side that is supported so as to bemovable radially of the bottle supporting plate or that is supported soas to swivel around an axis which is parallel to the axis of therotating bottle support plate, or a centering ring with an alignmentelement on its lower side, in the area of the centering surface, it canbe moved axially, parallel to the rotational bottle supporting plateaxis or can swivel around a horizontal axis. In the previously mentionedembodiments, the alignment element, which engages a bottle by enteringthe recess in the bottle, is acted on by a spring in such a way that itis constantly pressed against the bottom of the bottle or against thelateral wall of the bottle during the alignment procedure, until itengages.

If a centering ring is used for engaging the sidewall of a bottle foralignment, then it is desirable to use a bottle supporting plate on theouter peripheral circumference of which there is a cylindrical ringwhich serves as a friction drivable wheel. The outer diameter of thebottle supporting plate can thereby be selected so as to be larger thanthe inside diameter of the centering surface of the centering ring. Thebottle supporting plate is supported on an axle journaled in the bore ofa control shaft which contains a spring which allows some verticalmovement of the axle. When there is no bottle loaded on the bottlesupporting plate, its upper side rests against the underside of thecentering ring, where the upper stop position, which the bottlesupporting plate assumes when the bottles are pushed onto or removedfrom the transport device, is defined, whereby the bottle supportingplate essentially aligns with the surface of the centering ring. If acentering ring with an alignment element that is suited for bottomalignment is used, then a bottle supporting plate can be used in whichthe outer diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the centeringsurface and, that is, such that the width of the resulting ring gappermits the alignment elements supported on the lower side of thecentering ring to extend upward until it reaches through to the bottomof the bottle. Under this circumstance, the bottle supporting plate isequipped with a friction surface or pad which consists of a friction,which may be rubber, disk fixedly mounted to the bottle supporting plateand a ring that is fastened onto its circumference or is formed onto it,whereby the inside diameter of the ring is greater than the outerdiameter of the bottle supporting plate and the inner diameter of thecentering surface, such that the ring of the friction body surrounds thealignment element that is attached to the underside of the centeringring from the outside In this way, the side of the friction body that isin the form of a ring and faces the centering ring cam, together withthe centering ring, determine the upper stop position of the bottlesupport.

Regardless of whether bottles with a recess in the bottom or sidewallare being aligned, according to a further feature of the invention, itcan be advantageous for the bottle supporting plate to first be loweredsome distance above the axially clamped bottle, from the upper stoppedposition into an intermediate position between the upper and lowerstopped positions by means of the vertical control arrangement for thecentering bell, before or during passage through the alignment zone, andnot to be lowered into the lowered stop position until after passingthrough the alignment zone, but before reaching the label applicationstation. This is particularly desirable when the lower stop position ofthe bottle plate is defined by a stop surface formed on the inside ofthe housing so that the bottle supporting plate in the lower stoppedposition interlocks by friction with the control arrangement of thecentering and aligning assembly through the housing so a part of thetorque necessary for carrying out the preprogrammed rotation of thebottle is transferred to the bottle bottom through the bottle supportingplate. This provides the advantage that the torque does not have to betransferred exclusively through the centering surface and the alignmentmember that is connected to the centering ring. In the intermediateposition, however, the bottle plate can freely rotate for the alignmentof the bottle.

Alternatively, it is also possible to form the lower stopped position ofthe bottle supporting plate with a surface that is supported so as to befreely rotatable, for which purpose the axial bearing of the said axleof the bottle supporting plate is ideal. In this case, the bottlesupporting plate can be brought into its lower stopped position as earlyas before or during passage through the alignment zone by means of thevertical control of a centering bell, without the occurrence of anyhindrance to the ability of the bottle supporting plate to rotate, forthe purpose of alignment.

As has been mentioned already, many opportunities for application arisefrom the fact that the centering ring is connected to the housing of thebottle plate bearing in such a manner that it is rapidly exchangeable. Arapid exchange of the centering ring can be accomplished with a bayonetfitting. To establish and secure the exact rotational position of thecentering ring, and thereby the centering area with respect to thebottle support plate, the centering ring can be equipped with a borehole which, for example, acts in conjunction with a set pin which isspring loaded and is mounted to a plate which extends radially from saidcontrol shaft. If the centering ring is removed, then it is sufficientto press the set pin into the ring by means of a detent, rotating thecentering ring a few degrees until the bayonet fitting releases itvertically. Then, the centering ring, and if required, the bottlesupport plate can be removed and be replaced by other useful styles.

A further feature of the invention is a provision of a depression in thecircumferential surface of the centering ring which aligns with ablocking element, connected to the bottle rotary table and rotatingalong with it, as the centering ring passes an application station suchas a labeling station, said blocking element backing up and stabilizingthe bottle. A blocking element is arranged with each bottle supportingand aligning assembly and is formed so as to be radially controlled, sothat it can be brought in contact with the depression of the centeringring by means of a stationary control cam that is arranged in the areaof the application station, with the result that while passing theapplication station the effect of rotational play existing in thecontrol arrangement is eliminated. This measure ensures precise labelplacement in relation to the circumferential position on the bottle.

In order to assure that the adhesive for holding the label is held at aconstant level on the bottle, it is particularly desirable to constructthe centering ring so as to be vertically movable in relation to thetransporter, whereby the centering ring, in its unloaded condition, thatis without a bottle on it, is acted upon by a spring and assumes adefinite upper limit position, which simultaneously determines the upperstopped position of the bottle supporting plate. The ability of thecentering ring to move vertically can be achieved in various ways, forexample, by having the housing that supports the centering ring beguided vertically in its entirety on the transporter, or by only havingthe centering ring be vertically fixed and having another part, togetherwith the centering ring, be movably guided on it.

A particularly simple embodiment of the combination of the centeringring and bottle support plate results in a large lateral access openingcan be provided by the use of a drive plate that is fixed on the controlshaft that is rotatably supported on the housing of the rotary table.The drive plate having at least three fastened telescoping rods at itsouter edge each of which can consist of a pin with a sleeve that ismovably guided on it and an integrated pressure spring whereby a stopsurface that determines the upper limit position can be formed betweenthe sleeve and the pin. The centering ring can thereby rest on anannular disk which is connected to the ends of the pins which face awayfrom the drive plate.

Another embodiment of the housing has an annular body arranged on thedrive plate instead of the telescoping pins, the annular body featuringat least one lateral access opening on its peripheral surface. Theannular body is thereby axially displaceable with respect to the driveplate and, in the unloaded state, is held in place at an upper endposition by pressure springs. To this end, the annular body featuresbore holes with integrated pressure springs, into which pins arranged onthe drive plate extend. In this embodiment, the centering ring restsdirectly on the annular body.

The bottle support plate is provided with an axle journal which issupported in a displaceable and rotatable manner in a blind end borehole of said control shaft that is rotatably supported in the rotarytable, the bore having an open top upper and a closed bottom end. Theaxle that is fixed to the bottle support plate for joint rotation issupported by a compression spring that is arranged above a thrustbearing that is arranged at the bottom closed end of the bore in saidcontrol shaft.

The new device can also be used, with appropriate modification, purelyas a centering device for bottle shapes that do not feature anyrotationally symmetrical cross-sections and do not need to be aligned.For this application, the annular body and centering ring combinationwhich is like a housing is provided on the inner radial side that isdirected toward the bottle plate, with a vertical groove into which, forexample, the head of a hexagon head screw is guided so as to be axiallydisplaceable, said hexagon head screw being fastened to thecircumference of a corresponding bottle plate. The bottle plate requiredfor this has no friction body, since no alignment is necessary. Thecentering ring that features a centering surface which corresponds tothe vessel cross-section also, for the same reason, has no alignmentelements.

This type of refinement of the device can be utilized, as desired, forsidewall as well as bottom alignment, and for the centering of thebottle bells, whereby the device can readily be built into a bottletransporter of a standard labeling machine.

How the foregoing objectives and features of the invention are achievedwill appear in the ensuing more detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the invention which will now be set forth in reference tothe drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic top plan view of the rotating table of a bottleprocessing machine, such as a labeling machine which employs the newalignment device, with its upper part removed;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through the centering and alignment device,whereby the left half of the bottle support represents an embodiment foraligning a bottle by using a recess in its sidewall and the right halffor aligning where the recess is in the bottom of the bottle;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken on a line marked 3 and extending tothe center of the device; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a portion of the peripheral surfaceof the bottle supporting plate, partially in section.

Referring to FIG. 1, a rotating table 1 is provided for transportingbottles 3 along a circular path. The bottles come in on a flat conveyorbelt 50 and are engaged by a screw conveyor which feeds the bottles 3into the pockets of an inlet star wheel 51. Alignment and centering ofthe bottles to prepare them for being processed such as for having alabel applied begins immediately after the bottles are placed on therotating table and is completed by the time orbits through an alignmentzone 18. The length of the alignment zone is determined by the curvedsection of a friction element in the form of a belt 13 that is arrangedon the radially outward side of the rotating transport table 1. Thebottles are carried on the rotating table by means of a bottle supportand alignment assembly 2. Friction with belt 13 results in rotation ofthe bottles to engage a small recess in them with an orientating detentas will be elaborated. Immediately after the bottles have been pushedonto the bottle support assembly 2 by the infeed star wheel 51, theassociated centering bell 15, depicted in FIG. 2, is lowered by means ofthe vertical control 14, so that the bottle 3 is clamped with an axiallyapplied force. The centering bell is carried on a stem 60 and isslidable within a blind ended sleeve 62 which is movable downwardly fordriving stem 60 downwardly with a force conducted through a coil spring63. Stem 60 can move vertically to a limited extent set by a pin 64extending through a slot 65 in sleeve 62. The sleeve is carried on theshaft of a cam follower roller 66 which follows a cam groove 67 in astationary cam support 68. As is self evident, when the sleeve 62 isdriven orbitally, it is caused to reciprocate by the action of camfollower roller 66 for engaging the bell 15 with the mouth end of thebottle 3 to force the bottle downwardly to various levels as will beelaborated. Alignment of the bottles occurs while they are passingthrough the alignment zone 18 and well in advance of their arrival at aprocessing station 52 which is a bottle labeler in this particularexample. The labeler includes a glue roller 70, a wheel 71 on whichthere are several swingable pallets 72 to which a coating of glue isapplied as they pass the roller 70. As the pallets arrive at a labeldispenser magazine 73 they pick up a label which is carried to stripper74 and results in the glued size of the label being exposed for beingpressed onto containers 3 as they follow the orbital path defined by therotating table 1 on which the bottles are transported.

After the label is applied and while the bottle is rotating, it isbrushed to conform the label to the contour of the bottle. Just prior toreaching the outlet star wheel 53, the centering bell 15 is raised fromthe mouth of the bottle 3 by means of vertical control 14 so the bottlecan be transferred onto the outlet conveyor 54 by the rotating transporttable 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a controllable blocking member 26 that rotates alongwith transport table 1 can be arranged with each bottle support andalignment assembly 2, the blocking member can be radially displaceableat the label application station 52 in the direction of the bottle bymeans of stationary cam 27 and can be brought into contact with a recesson the circumference of the centering ring 12. This assures that thebottle is stabilized while the label is being applied at the applicationstation 52. Only the blocking members 26, which are similar to camfollowers, are shown in the area 52 to provide a better overview.

In FIG. 2, the rotating bottle transport table 1 is shown with the meansfor actuating the centering and aligning assembly 2. The operatingmechanism includes a stationary cam groove 6 around which the table 1rotates. A cam follower lever 5 is connected to a control shaft 7 whichis joined with cam follower lever 5. Control shaft 7 is rotatable in abearing 75 which is mounted in the rotating table 1 and control shaft 7is not movable vertically. The control shaft has an axial bore that isclosed at the bottom and opens upwardly. A hard metal disk 76 is in thecontrol shaft and it bears on a thrust bearing in the form of a ball 31.A hollow axle 34 rests on the bearing and is occupied by a compressionspring 35. Axle 34 extends integrally from the bottom of bottle supportplate 10. Axle 34, and hence, bottle support plate 10 are supported soas to be displaceable axially through small increments in the bore 33 ofcontrol shaft 7. A drive plate 37 is also fixed on control shaft 7 forrotating with the control shaft. Drive plate 37 cannot move vertically.There are pins 39 extending vertically upwardly from drive plate 37. Thepins 39 extend into bores 40 on the ring body 38. The bores 40respectively include a compression spring 41. The pins possess a head 77which fixes the upper limit position of the ring body 38 when it is notloaded with a bottle. The ring body 38 supports a centering ring 12. Thecentering ring 12 is rigidly locked to the ring body 38 by means of abayonet connector 20 which is illustrated in FIG. 4. The bayonetconnector 20 comprises a lug 25 that is formed on the annular body 38,and an L-shaped slot 24 on the edge of the centering ring 12.

The left half of FIG. 2, constituting one embodiment of the invention,illustrates a spring loaded alignment element or detent 8 supported on acentering ring 12 so as to be displaceable radially for registering in arecess in the sidewall of a bottle, while in the right half of the FIG.2 embodiment, the centering ring 12 is illustrated with an alignmentelement or detent 9 that is swingable about a horizontal axis supportedon the underside of the centering ring for engaging in a recess which isformed in the bottom of the bottle.

On the left side of the device in FIG. 2, underneath the outer edge ofthe centering ring 12, there is a lateral access opening 19 formed inthe annular body 38, which, together with the drive plate 37 and thecentering ring 12 forms the housing of the centering and aligningassembly 2 that surrounds the bottle support plate 10. A frictionelement in the form of a flexible closed loop belt 13 extends throughlateral opening 19 when the bottle aligning assembly is in the zone 18and bears against the surface of the annular friction drive rim 17 ofthe bottle support plate 10. The rim 17 serves as a friction drivesurface which is engaged by the belt as the rim 17 is carried in anorbital path by rotating table 1. This is a continuous annular rim 17 ascan be seen on both the left and right sides of FIG. 2. In FIG. 2 thebottle support plate 10 is in its lowermost limit position which itreaches at the latest before passing the application station 52.

In the left half of FIG. 2, the lower limit position of bottle supportplate 10 is determined by the friction rim 17 becoming lowered to becomefrictionally engaged with the top side of drive plate 37. In thisembodiment, after the bottle 3 has been pushed onto the bottle platesurface 16 of bottle support plate 10, the bottle support plate 10 islowered a small distance from the upper limit position which is definedby the upper side of the bottle support plate 10 and the underside ofthe centering ring 12 into a new intermediate position which permitsfree rotation of bottle plate 10 by means of the belt 13 until anengagement of the alignment elements 8 occur. After the detent oralignment elements 8 register in the sidewall recess, there is slippagebetween the friction belt 13 and the friction drive rim 17 until thebottle support under consideration has completed its passage through thealignment zone 18 which is identified in FIG. 1. Upon reaching the endof the alignment zone 18, the centering bell 15 with its bottle 3 islowered to the lower limit position of the bottle support plate 10 bymeans of vertical control 14 so that this engages by friction with thedrive plate 37. The intermediate and limit position of the verticalcontrol device 14 is indicated in the upper part of FIG. 2.

The upper side of bottle support plate 10 has a replaceable disk 16 onwhich the bottle 3 is supported. The disk can have a gripping quality orcan be smooth, depending on the requirements.

In the right half of FIG. 2, one may see that the outside diameter ofthe bottle support plate 10 must be smaller than the inside diameter ofthe edge 21 on the centering ring 12 for the bottle to fit and rest onthe supporting plate 10. The alignment detent 9 that acts on the vesselbottom extends through a gap between the bottle support plate 10 and thecentering ring. The alignment element 9 is provided with a stop whichprevents element 9 from projecting over the surface of centering ring 12when the ring is in unloaded condition. If the bottle bottom is nowlowered by means of vertical control 14 into the lower limit position ofbottle support plate 10, which is defined by the lower end of the axlejournal 34 and the axial bearing 31 and a hard metal disk 76, then thealignment element or detent 9 is pressed downwardly but, as a result ofspring loading, always comes to rest at the bottom of the vessel untilit can engage in a recess in the bottle. In this version where thebottom alignment is carried out, the friction body 17 is composed of adisk 42 which is fastened to the axle 34 under the bottle support plate10 at some distance from it and creates a ring or rim 43. The insidediameter of rim 43 is greater than the inside diameter of the centeringsurface 21 and the outer diameter of the bottle support plate 10.

The side access opening 19 in the housing of the centering and aligningassembly 2 can be readily seen in horizontal sections shown from belowin FIG. 3 and through the embodiment of the centering and aligningassembly 2 for sidewall alignment as shown on the left side in FIG. 2,the side access opening 19 being at the circumference of the ring body38. Access opening 19 makes is possible for the friction belt to makecontact with the friction drive rim 17 which is concentrically arrangedin the housing of the bottle support plate 10.

I claim:
 1. A device for aligning bottles in a predetermined angularorientation as the bottles are transported to a work station at which anoperation such as labeling or printing on the bottles is performed, saidbottles having an alignment recess formed thereon, comprising:a rotarytable (1) on which at least one of said devices (2) for aligning bottlesis mounted for being transported to said station (52) by rotating saidtable about a vertical axis, a stationary cam (6) extending along themovement path of said device on the rotary table, the device including avertically arranged cam driven control shaft (7) mounted for turningabout a vertical axis radially spaced from the rotational axis of saidtable, cam follower means (4, 5) operatively coupling said shaft to saidcam (6), a bottle support plate (10) disposed coaxially to said controlshaft (7) and a friction ring (17, 41) connected to said support plateand positioned above table (1) for being frictionally engaged to rotatethe bottle support plate, a centering ring (12) arranged over saidbottle support plate (10), said centering ring having an opening throughwhich the bottom of a bottle can extend for resting on said bottlesupport plate, a spring loaded detent element (8, 9) mounted to saidcentering ring (12) in a position for registering in said alignmentrecess of said bottle in response to rotation of said bottle supportplate (10) to thereby hold said bottle in a predetermined rotationalposition, a friction member (13) positioned adjacent said rotary tablewithin a bottle alignment zone for frictionally engaging said frictionring (17, 41) to rotate said axle shaft and the bottle support platethereon to bring said recess on the bottle into registry with a detent(8, 9).
 2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said friction membercomprises a belt (13) which slips on said friction ring (17, 41) whensaid detent registers in a recess.
 3. The device according to claim 2wherein said belt is of sufficient length to remain in frictionaldriving relation with said friction ring long enough for said bottle tomake more than one revolution if said recess in the bottle is notengaged by a detent on the first revolution.
 4. The device according toany one of claims 1, 2 or 3 including a centering bell means arrangedfor engaging the mouth of the bottle after said bottle is on a device onsaid rotary table and actuating means (14) for actuating said centeringbell such that said centering bell applies various amounts of force onsaid bottle as said bottle is transported by said rotary table and theforce applied to said bottle when in said alignment zone comprises saidspring (35) acting on said axle shaft (34) a sufficient amount for saidbottle support plate (10) to descend to an intermediate verticalposition in which said support plate can rotate freely with a bottlethereon in response to being driven by said friction member (13).
 5. Thedevice according to claim 4 including a drive plate (37) fixed to saidcontrol shaft (7) and extending radially outwardly of said controlshaft, said actuating means (14) for said centering bell (15) causingsaid friction ring (17) to descend further after said recess has beenengaged to thereby place said friction ring in frictional engagementwith said drive plate (37), anda drive element (39) fixed on said driveplate (37) slidably engaged with said centering plate (12), saidstationary cam (6) having a configuration in the vicinity of said workstation for swinging said cam follower means (5) to effect rotation ofsaid control shaft (7) and drive plate (37) so said drive element (39)turns said bottle, said centering ring (12) and said bottle supportplate (10) jointly in the vicinity of said work station.
 6. The deviceaccording to claim 1 including means for detachably interlocking saidbottle support plate (10) and said centering ring
 12. 7. The deviceaccording to claim 1 or 2 including a drive plate (37) fixed to saidcontrol shaft (7) and extending radially outwardly of said controlshaft, said drive plate (37) carrying said centering plate (12) beingaxial slidably engaged with said drive plate (37), said bottle supportplate (10) and said friction ring (17, 41) being situated above thedrive plate (37) and underneath the centering plate (12), and comprisinga lateral access opening (19) between the centering plate (12) and thedrive plate (37), through which said friction member (13) forfrictionally engaging said friction ring (17, 41) extends when thecentering and aligning assembly (2) passes said bottle alignment zone(18).
 8. The device according to claim 7 wherein said lateral accessopening (19) is faced toward said friction member (13) and is held in aposition that is fixed relative to said rotary table (1) during passagethrough said bottle alignment zone (18).